Milwaukee tops Chicago 122-112 despite resting Giannis

Robin Lopez and Frank Mason III both scored 14 points to lead the Milwaukee Bucks over the Chicago Bulls 122-112 in preseason action on Monday night.

Milwaukee didn’t play most of its major contributors, including last year’s league Most Valuable Player Giannis Antetokounmpo, Eric Bledsoe and Khris Middleton.

Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said before the game that most of them had a good scrimmage on Sunday so he didn’t want to play them in what was essentially a back-to-back stretch.

All five of the Bucks’ starters scored in double figures. Brook Lopez scored 13 points, Sterling Brown added 12 points and nine rebounds and Wesley Matthews scored 10.

Zach LaVine led the Bulls with 16 points. Lauri Markkanen added 14 points, making 4 of 8 of his 3-point attempts.

PELICANS 133, HAWKS 109

Jrue Holiday led New Orleans with 21 points and Zion Williamson scored 16, including several highlight-reel dunks.

Williamson, the No. 1 overall pick in June’s draft, threw down his first preseason dunk, a tomahawk over 7-foot center Damian Jones less than two minutes into the game and finished with seven rebounds, three assists and three steals.

DeAndre’ Bembry led Atlanta with 16 points, Alex Len scored 14 and John Collins 10. Trae Young finished with nine points and 11 assists but committed eight of the Hawks‘ 29 turnovers.

Brandon Ingram scored 19 points, Lonzo Ball had nine points and seven assists and Nikeil Alexander-Walker added 12 points for the Pelicans. Ball blocked a shot, grabbed the rebound and led the break before feeding Williamson for a monster two-handed jam in the first quarter.

Ingram and Ball came to New Orleans for the Los Angeles Lakers as part of the Anthony Davis trade. Alexander-Walker was the No. 17 pick in June’s draft.

MAGIC 115, PISTONS 91

Aaron Gordon had 25 points and eight rebounds and Jonathan Isaac added 16 points, seven rebounds and five assists for Orlando.

Mo Bamba scored 13 points and Nikola Vucevic had 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Magic. Markelle Fultz added eight points, four rebounds and seven assists. The No. 1 overall pick by Philadelphia in the 2017 draft, Fultz was acquired by Orlando in a trade for Jonathan Simmons, a second-round pick in the 2019 draft and a protected first-round pick in the 2020 draft.

Christian Wood led Detroit with 19 points, Andre Drummond had 14 points and nine rebounds and Derrick Rose scored 10 points.

KNICKS 104, WIZARDS 99

Marcus Morris and RJ Barrett each had 17 points and seven rebounds and Taj Gibson added 16 points and nine boards for New York.

Morris was ejected early in the third quarter for purposely hitting Washington’s Justin Anderson on the head with the ball.

Moritz Wagner, acquired from Los Angeles in a three-team trade that sent Anthony Davis from New Orleans to the Lakers, led the Wizards with 16 points. Rui Hachimura, the No. 9 overall pick in June’s draft, scored 12. Bradley Beal finished with five points on 2-of-10 shooting in 16 minutes.

Kevin Knox and Wayne Ellington added 12 points apiece for the Knicks and Julius Randle had 11 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. The 24-year-old Randle, who was the No. 7 overall pick in the 2014 draft, signed a 3-year, $63 million contract with New York in July.

CAVALIERS 120, BUENOS AIRES SAN LORENZO 89

Jordan Clarkson had 17 points, Kevin Porter Jr. scored 16 on 7-of-9 shooting and Larry Nance Jr. added 15 points for Cleveland.

Tristan Thompson had 14 points and 10 rebounds and Cedi Osman had 12 points, five assists and five steals for the Cavaliers.

Esteban Batista led Buenos Aires with 20 points, Sar Tucker scored 17 and Facundo Pinero added 16 points.